TNAG-0905-FCO40-1115-Immigration-from-China-to-Hong-Kong-1979 — Page 59

CONFIDENTIAL

COME!

FM HONG KONG 188948Z JUN 79

131

Hel

341./1.

2 1 JUN 1979

PA

RY

Juken

TO IMMEDIATE FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH OFFICE

по

825.6

TELNO.813 OF 18 JUNE,

AND TO IMMEDIATE: WASHINGTON,

See 1341)

(1

INFO PRIORITY: PEKING,

ROUTINE : UKMIS GENEVA, H.K.GOVT OFFICE LONDON.

IMMIGRATION FROM CHINA.

1. THE ASSISTANT POLITICAL ADVISER GAVE TAN GAN OF THE NONA THE LATEST FIGURES TODAY, MAKING THE FOLLOWING POINTS:-

(A) LEGAL ARRIVALS WITHOUT ONWARD VISAS 1-17 JUNE WERE 2,825. THE DAILY AVERAGE (NOW 166) HAD INCREASED IN THE PAST WEEK BECAUSE ON 15 AND 17 JUNE ARRIVALS HAD, FOR THE FIRST TIME THIS MONTH, BEEN OVER 200. HE HOPED THE EARLIER DOWNWARD TREND

WOULD QUICKLY BE RESUMED.

(B) ILLEGALS REPATRIATED 1-17 JUNE WERE 10,060. THE DAILY AVERAGE 1-11 JUNE HAD BEEN 692 BUT FROM 12-17 JUNE IT HAD BEEN

407. THIS WAS STILL AN ALARMING NUMBER. HOWEVER, THE DOWNWARD

TREND WAS WELCOME. DID NONA KNOW OF ANY RECENT MEASURES WHICH

MIGHT HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO THIS ?

2. TAN (WHO WAS IN PEKING AND CANTON LAST WEEK) SAID HE WAS

CERTAIN THAT THE REDUCTION WAS THE RESULT OF 'VERY STRONG MEASURES"

WHICH WERE BEING TAKEN ON THE CHINESE SIDE. ANTI-EMIGRATION RALLIB HAD BEEN HELD IN SHENZHEN (SHUR CHUN) AND BOTH ARMY AND MILITIA HAD

BEEN STRENGTHENED. ON LEGALS, HE SAID THAT NUMBERS WOULD COME DOWN

FURTHER, BUT WOULD NOT BE DRAWN ON A TARGET.

/3.